Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday effected a major reshuffle in the senior bureaucratic level reassigning duties and additional portfolios to 21 IAS officers.
According to the notification of General Administration & Public Grievance Department, Deoranjan Kumar Singh, DC-cum-ACS and Secretary, Planning & Convergence, has been assigned additional charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Steel and Mines Department.
He will replace Surendra Kumar, who has been appointed as Additional Chief Secretary, General Administration & Public Grievance. He will continue as Additional Chief Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs.
Bishnupada Sethi, who was posted as Officer on Special Duty in the General Administration & Public Grievance Department after being dragged into controversy over the CBI investigation into Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited bribery scandal, has been appointed as Chairman of Odisha Forest Development Corporation. He will also serve as KBK Chief Administrator.
Chithra Arumugam, Additional Chief Secretary, Labour & ESI Department, with additional charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Science & Technology Department, is allowed to remain in additional charge of Director General, Training Coordination, Gopabandhu Academy of Administration, Bhubaneswar.
Similarly, Agriculture Secretary Arabinda Padhee, who also serves as Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator, has been appointed as Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue & Disaster Management. He will continue as SJTA Chief Administrator.
The notification further stated that appointment of Deoranjan Kumar Singh as Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue & Disaster Management, will stand terminated from the date Padhee assumes office.
Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development, has been assigned charge of Chairperson, Odisha Industrial infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco). She will replace Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra.
Suresh Kumar Vashishth, Principal Secretary, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development, has been appointed as Principal Secretary, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department. He will replace R Santhanagopalan.
Shubha Sarma, Principal Secretary, Women & Child Development, will remain in charge as Principal Secretary, Water Resources.
NBS Rajput, Principal Secretary, Public Enterprises, with additional charge of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC), has been appointed as Principal Secretary, Commerce & Transport. He will continue as CMD of OSRTC. “The additional appointment of Usha Padhee as Additional Chief Secretary, Commerce & Transport, shall stand terminated from the date Rajput, IAS takes over,” it added.
Similarly, Girish S N, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water, will remain in additi
onal charge of Chairman, Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) Ltd, replacing Surendra Kumar.
Mrinalini Darswal, Special Resident Commissioner in New Delhi, has been appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Women & Child Development.
The notification further stated that the additional charge of Special Secretary, Housing & Urban Development, assigned to Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, who also serves as Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Co-operation Department, has been withdrawn. He will continue as Chairman, Odisha State Warehousing Corporation (OSWC), Special Relief Commissioner of Odisha and Managing Director of Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA).
Balwant Singh, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Tourism Department, has been assigned additional charge of Managing Director, Odisha State Highways Authority.
Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Sports & Youth Services, with additional charge of Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Northern Division), Sambalpur, has been appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment. He will continue in the Sports & Youth Services department.
Sudhansu Mohan Samal, Managing Director of Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) Ltd , will remain in additional charge of Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Central Division, Cuttack. “The additional appointment of Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar to the post shall stand terminated from the date Samal takes over,” it said.
Rashmita Panda, Director, Employment-cum-CEO of Odisha Skill Development Authority with additional charge of CEO, ORSAC and CEO, Startup Odisha, has been appointed as Vice-Chairman of Bhubaneswar Development Authority, replacing Chanchal Rana. She will remain in additional charge of Managing Director, Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited and Special Secretary, Housing & Urban Development.
Md Sadique Alam, Director of Fisheries, has been appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Public Enterprises. He will also serve as Managing Director, Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), Bhubaneswar, replacing Sanjay Kumar Biswal.
Mansi Nimbhal Managing Director of Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation with additional charge of Special Secretary, Water Resources, has been appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Department of Mission Shakti, replacing Girish S N.
Prem Chandra Chaudhary, Director of Textiles & Handlooms, has been appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development.
Anupam Saha, Additional Secretary to Chief Minister, has been assigned additional charge of Managing Director, Odisha Bridge & Construction Corporation {OBCC) Ltd.
Similarly, Sangram Keshari Mohapatra, Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Southern Division, Berhampur, has been assigned additional charge of Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Northern Division, Sambalpur, and Chairman of Western Odisha Development Council (WODC). “The additional appointment of Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav as Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Northern Division, Sambalpur shall stand terminated from the date Mohapatra takes over,” it added.
Interestingly, several of these officers were recently subjected to a vicious online smear campaign and this reshuffle reaffirmed the administration’s confidence in their leadership, performance, and integrity.